MedCentral's plans a cause for concern

I have read the newspaper articles about MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital's affiliation with Ohio Health with some trepidation. According to the latest AARP Bulletin, consolidations of this sort do not always improve quality of care and may increase the cost to the patient and the insurance companies.

I have a friend whose husband had surgery at one of the other Ohio Health facilities. He had to pay everything the insurance company would not pay up front before he could have surgery. Most people do not have that kind of money available at one time.

Regarding the plan to build a new office building and bring in 20 new internists: The first priority needs to be finding a neurosurgeon. The present neurosurgeon is relocating to California. Anyone who has a need for a consult needs to go to Cleveland or Columbus at this point. This also impacts the hospital's trauma level and more patients are needing to be transferred to other facilities. The drawing for the site indicates that it will be put in the present parking lot, starting in the existing handicapped lot. Parking is already at a premium at the Mansfield campus. Does this mean that valet parking will return? Older patient and visitors already complain about the distance they must walk in order to get into the building and in the wintertime it is treacherous for those who cannot get around easily.

The hospital system has changed staffing patterns, closed one entire unit and laid off multiple employees, some of them tenured employees who had worked many years all done in the spirit of tightening the belt, trying to meet the budget and improving efficient. As a result of all these changes, the hospital was able to pay very large amounts of money for two medical office buildings.

Beatrice E. Cress

Mansfield

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

MedCentral's plans a cause for concern

I have read the newspaper articles about MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital's affiliation with Ohio Health with some trepidation.